Writing the Pine

The Blind Side

The Blind Side begins with footage of LT coming in for a blind side tackle that ended the career of Joe Theismann.  It is accompanied by commentary by Sandra Bullock’s character, Leigh Anne, about how LT had forever changed the game and inadvertently changed her life as well. It follows the story of Michael Oher as he’s taken off the streets, given a proper education, and taught to play left tackle. This is Michael Oher’s story, but the film seems to revolve more around Leigh Anne. She is the one who brought Michael in from the cold and made him a part of her family. She paid for a tutor to help bring up his GPA and she was the one who fought to keep him. It’s nice to know that there are still good people like this out there, but I guess when you are as rich as Leigh Anne and her husband are, you can afford to do nice things like this. In the future, I might just find a gifted young athlete, adopt him, and make sure he becomes a Miami Hurricane.

As a cast, I think the performances in the movie were pretty good. They don’t go overboard with the dramatic scenes and the actors are very believable. I was never really a fan of Sandra Bullock, but she turns in a really solid performance. Leigh Anne’s daughter is pretty cute and should have had more time on screen. Michael doesn’t have many lines in the movie, but he delivers them effectively, with a gentle giant-like inquisitiveness. As for the movie itself, it is a heartwarming story, but I have to say I was blind sided by the lack of actual football. I was expecting a movie along the lines of We are Marshall or Gridiron Gang, so I was disappointed to see that The Blind Side was so light on football. Don’t be fooled, it’s a good movie, but temper your expectations since this film is more about his personal struggles than his on-field exploits. Plus, it’s about a guy who plays left tackle. That doesn’t exactly translate into the most exciting football. Everyone knows how important the O-line is, but there’s a reason why they don’t get the glory. A game focused on the left tackle wouldn’t produce much material for SportsCenter, but the filmmakers manage to pepper in some fun scenes with the dramatic ones. There are some awesome cameos by several of the SEC coaches at the time that build palpable excitement for Michael’s recruiting process.

One gripe I had with the movie was its portrayal of racial stereotypes. Michael hails from Hurtville, a rundown part of town where his biological mother is a known crack fiend. Everyone in Hurtville is depicted as either a druggie or gang member and (surprise!) they’re all African American. The Tuohys are the kind, white saviors of this poor, black boy living on the streets. It’s as if white people symbolize hope, education, and progress. The dialogue near the end between Michael and a local drug dealer demonstrates a clear bifurcation between the person Michael has become and the world he left behind. It’s as if the filmmakers wanted to portray Michael as the only “good” African American in the state of Tennessee. Even his mother makes an appearance as a drug-addicted fiend who can’t put down the pipe long enough to see her own son. It may have actually been the case that there was not a single, positive black influence in Michael’s life, so take this rant for what it is. After all, it is a movie and every movie needs villains – a role that can always be filled by drug dealers and gangs. The movie does compensate for these negative stereotypes with the presence of a handful of characters, such as the  African American mechanic who brings Michael to enroll in a private school and Leigh Anne’s racist, snobby white friends. However, as a family film, The Blind Side probably could have done a better job not to compartmentalize whites and blacks the way it did.

Michael Oher’s story is a truly inspirational one and, if you’re interested, the NY Times did an excellent piece on it here. The article goes more in depth about the physical gifts that make left tackles so unique and shows just how incredible it was for Michael to achieve what he did. Overall, The Blind Side is definitely a touching, feel good movie, but it is more of a family flick than a sports movie. It does drag a bit and suffers somewhat from the same thing that made Wall-E a little annoying – the fact that the main character doesn’t talk. In any case, it’s a great movie for the holiday season. I give it 7/10 pines and recommend it over most of the other crap (Ninja Assassin, I’m looking at you) that’s out right now. Go see The Blind Side!